


confusion in the second degree

by jhoom



Series: truth or dare [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Twincest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-24
Updated: 2016-08-24
Packaged: 2018-08-10 16:51:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7853254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jhoom/pseuds/jhoom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam sometimes visits his big brother at college, just to hang out.  Over the course of a few years, he gradually meets the Novak twins.  It takes a little while to figure out the, uh, dynamics of their relationship with his brother.</p>
            </blockquote>





	confusion in the second degree

**Author's Note:**

> I am prefacing this with a note that this story is completely self-indulgent and honestly not my best work. It was just an idea I had floating around about my truth or dare sorta series (now officially a series, though poorly named at the moment), mainly wondering how Sam would react to finding out about the twins and then wondering how *would* he find out? So this is a Sam POV that's not super detailed as it goes through Sam's understanding of Dean's relationship with Jimmy and Cas.
> 
> Again, this is just for fun, so I didn't spend a lot of time polishing the writing on it.
> 
> Come gush with me about Dean/Cas/Jimmy on tumblr [@jhoomwrites](http://jhoomwrites.tumblr.com) ^-^

Sam's known his brother a long time.  Obviously.  They're brothers.  And his brother, god bless him, has a _terrible_  poker face when it comes to who he has a crush on.  Atrociously bad.  

It took maybe three minutes for Sam to figure out Dean was into Cassie.  He wasn't even _trying_ , all he did was mention how he saw Cassie hanging out with their friend Becky at Starbucks and Dean totally lost his cool trying to find out absolutely everything about the encounter.

"Did you talk to them?  What'd they say?  What were they doing?  What was she wearing?  Think she'd say yes if I asked her to prom?"

Oh god, and then there was that time when Dean was in middle school and literally walked into a lamp post while staring at their new neighbor Aaron.  Sam had about died from second hand embarrassment, never mind that he was only seven at the time and didn't understand that Dean fumbling like an idiot meant that he liked someone.  Or that his big brother liked guys.  

So when he calls to chat with Dean during his first week Freshman year, he figures out that Dean has a mild interest in his roommate Benny.  Not necessarily a crush or anything.  More like he has an _appreciation_  for the guy.  And a week later when he starts talking about this Lisa girl he's partnered with in Chem Lab, Sam is all too aware that Dean's _definitely_  considering ruining their academic relationship by asking her out.

(And in both instances, it's up to Sam to _casually_  suggest that he maybe not mess up good things by getting romantically involved with either of them.)

(Dean thankfully listens.)

The weekly calls get replaced with frequent emails as Dean's semester gets under way and he needs the time to study.  The updates include fewer and fewer hints about Dean's social life, most of it about school or wrestling, so Sam figures Dean's buckling down and not goofing off too much.  And _thank god_  for that.  He loves his brother, but there was always this fear in the back of his mind that with all the new found freedom of college he'd neglect his studies.

About halfway through the fall semester, Sam's school gets a huge plumbing leak and a week off so they can fix it.  Bored out of his mind, Dean invites him up to visit and check out the campus.  After a few days of lounging around the house, he figures why the hell not and takes a bus to KU.  

It's a Thursday and Dean doesn't have too many classes.  He shows Sam around campus, makes him try the mediocre dining hall food, and then introduces him to his roommate Benny.  And yeah, Benny is totally Dean's type.  And Sam could not be happier that his brother didn't fuck himself over by pursuing anything.  Because Benny's a cool enough guy but that wouldn't make things awkward as hell should anything have happened.

Dean offers to drive Sam home so they head down to the Impala (which is totally not fair that Dean gets to keep, by the way, Sam should get the chance to learn to drive her too).  Sam ducks into the passenger seat but just as Dean opens his door, something catches his eye.  He hesitates before saying, "Gimme a minute, okay?"  He slams the door shut and runs off to catch up with some guy walking into the dorm.

"Hey, Castiel!   _Cas_!"  

Normally, Sam wouldn't care less, but there's something about the urgency in Dean's voice that makes him double take and decide to watch.  

This Cas guy?  Yeah, Dean is totally gone on him.  Sam watches them interact with this deep feeling of second hand embarrassment, because oh _god_  could Dean not be more obvious.  The way he shuffles nervously on his feet, the completely unnecessary hand on the shoulder, and the _staring_.  Sam could set himself on fire right beside Dean and there's no way either of the two guys would notice.

Whatever they talk about, the exchange is brief and ends with Dean jogging back to the car.  There's not even a "Sorry about that" but the slight blush on Dean's cheeks is priceless.

Sam, ever the merciful brother, doesn't bring it up.

He does, however, try to get info about Cas over the next few months.  Nothing comes up and he doesn't want to push.  After a while, he kinda figures it was a fleeting crush like with Benny and Lisa.  Someone Dean was _interested_  in but that didn't pan out.

Dean spends holidays at home.  Hardly much of a trial, since he lives all of a fifteen minute drive away.  But he's not busy with school, so he's actually _there_  and not distracted by homework and essays and all that.  He's cheerful and probably the nicest he's ever been (something to be said about having him around in small doses, Sam supposes).  The only thing is that he's always antsy to get back to school the last day of break, practically buzzing with this excited energy.

That trend does _not_  continue through summer.  Sure, the first week is great.  Lots of family time and Dean being all too happy to talk about what school's like and his favorite professors so far and blah blah blah.  But maybe a week in he starts getting mopey.  Spending way more time texting or on his computer, shut up in his room doing god knows what.  The guy seems almost _depressed_  by the time a full month passes.  

Sam knows something's up when he sees Dean starting taking _summer classes_.  Classes.  In the summer.  

(Not like he's a stranger to that sort of thing.  But this is Dean we're talking about.  Dean doesn't do summer school.)

When he asks about it, Dean brushes it off and says he's bored.  Wants a distraction.  At a loss for what else it might be, Sam has no choice but to let it go.  

Sam offers to help move dean into his new dorm room that fall.  It's not as generous as it sounds - sure, their parents get to stay longer on their couples retreat and yeah he's helping Dean.  But really he's looking forward to having the house to himself for a whole two days.  If that means offering to carry some boxes, then so be it.

And lucky for Sam that he does, since he gets a break through in the why-is-Dean-acting-strangely case.  

One his third or fourth trip up from the car, Sam finds a dark haired guy hanging out in Dean's room.  It takes a few seconds for him to recognize him as the same guy Dean nearly tripped over to get to that one time nearly a year ago.  

"Hey, I'm Sam.  Dean's brother."  He offers out a shy hand.  Do college kids shake hands?  Is this weird?

The older boy takes it and shakes it eagerly.  "Hi.  I'm Jimmy, Dean's boyfriend."

"Boyfriend!?" he all but shouts.  "I didn't know Dean _had_  a boyfriend."

This is _great_.  Yeah yeah happy for Dean, but more importantly this is _excellent_  blackmail material.  Because he hasn't told Mom or Dad and there's a good chance Sam can bargain his way into using the Impala in a few months to practice driving.  

"Oh..."  And Jimmy looks a bit sheepish.

It's awkward for a moment until Sam recovers from his excitement enough to show that he's fine with his brother dating another guy.  Jimmy seems a little reserved at first but relaxes soon enough.  (Though not _completely_  and Sam can't quite figure out why that might be.)

Dean interrupts their avid discussion on Star Trek vs Star Wars.  He looks between the two for a second, trying to get a read on the situation maybe, before he, in typical Dean fashion, bypasses the whole sticky situation.  "Dude, why am _I_ helping _your_  roommate carry boxes?  Go help, jackass!"

With a friendly shove, he effectively kicks Jimmy out of the room.  

"Your boyfriend seems nice," Sam says carefully.

Dean tenses for a moment before breaking into a stupid smile.  "Yeah, he is."

They don't talk about it more than that, but Sam notices how Dean opens up to him more after that.  When they talk on the phone or text or whatever, he starts actually hearing Dean mention Jimmy.  

But, and here's the strange part, he also refers to him as Cas sometimes.  In the same affectionate tone (or overly dramatized aggravation, depending on the topic).  Sam distinctly remembers when he first saw Jimmy, and Dean definitely called him Castiel.  So Sam makes what he assumes is the only logical conclusion.  That Dean's boyfriend is named Castiel (nickname Cas), but since that's a strange name he goes by his middle name James (nickname Jimmy).  

Because that makes sense, right?

Whatever the case, things seem to be going well.  Right when his sophomore year ends, Dean finds a place near campus and moves in with Jimmy.  Sam, unfortunately, still has school and can't help out with the move, but it makes him laugh to hear how stupid in love his brother is as he gushes about how happy is to be out of the dorms and on his own (always followed by a somewhat menacing reminder to tell mom and dad he lives _alone_  because he doesn't want to deal with the _questions_  and the awkward family dinner any revelation of any possible boyfriends might necessitate).

It's early July when Sam's woken up by a phone call.  Half-asleep, he picks up and notices Dean's panicked voice more than the actual words he's saying.

"-boyfriend's birthday on the 10th and fuck, I don't know what to do or get 'em.  We didn't do anything last year since we were outta school and I mean Pontiac ain't exactly a short trip-"

"Dean, stop."  He sits up in his bed and tries to find enough functioning brain cells to engage in this conversation.  He sifts through the relevant words he's heard before saying, "Why don't you like... throw a small party at a restaurant or a bar or something.  I can't really help with gift ideas though-"

"No no no that's good, thanks Sammy.  Great idea."

And then he's met with a dial tone.  Ugh, older brothers are the worst.

Sam ends up going to the party with Jo, their cousin.  When they get to the bar, Jo immediately disappears to hang out with Dean's friend Charlie (Jo might not admit it, but Sam is 90% sure she has a crush on the redhead), leaving him to fend for himself.  He introduces himself to some new faces, chats with some of the people he recognizes, and manages to get Dean's attention for a whole five minutes before he goes to mingle with other people.

It's surprising how often he runs into Jimmy though.  He sees him twice as much as anyone else, but oh well.  He's a good younger brother and plays nice, makes small talk and doesn't reveal any stories about Dean that are _too_  embarrassing.

A couple hours in and he's at a table with Benny.  He and Dean roomed together the past two years, and over that time he's really grown on Sam.  They talk about shared grievances that only those who have survived living with Dean Winchester can relate to.  

After a complaint from Benny about Dean's habit of leaving his dirty bath towels in random spots on the floor, Sam laughs and says, "Oh man, I forgot about that.  Gross, I'd find them on the couch sometimes.  I'd sit down and have this huge damp spot because he can't be bothered to hang up a damn towel.  Seriously, I hope his boyfriend knows what he's getting into, moving in with him."

"You wanna run that by me again, brother?"

It's only when he notices the intent look in Benny's eye that he realizes he's made a mistake.  He knew their parents weren't supposed to know about him living with Jimmy, but maybe there's more to it than that.  Shit, he's in trouble, Dean's gonna kill him.  

"Uh, nothing?"  He coughs and looks away, then fidgets with his iced tea and hopes Benny will drop it.

"Alright, I get it.  Not supposed to say nothing'."  Sam's about to sigh out in relief when Benny adds, "Just answer me this, if you don't mind.   _Who_  is Dean dating?"

He squints in confusion because shouldn't _that_  be obvious?  He figured it was only the moving in/roommate thing that's a secret.  But his surprise loosens his lips enough to answer.  "Jimmy.  Why'd you think he threw this birthday party?"

"Jimmy, huh?"  A low rumble comes from Benny's throat as he chuckles and polishes off his drink.  "So he's the one that won that fight, is he?"

Sam has no idea what the hell _that's_  supposed to mean, and before he can ask, Benny's girlfriend comes in to whisk him away for a dance.

The mystery solves itself ten minutes later, though, when Dean loudly (and only _somewhat_  drunkenly) calls for everyone's attention.  He tells everyone to grab a glass and raise it, toasting his two best friends on their twentieth birthday.  And then two very identical twins come up and each hug Dean in turn.  

He claps along numbly and feels like such a fucking moron.   _They're wearing different clothes_  for Christ's sake and he didn't even notice when he talked to them.  Holy _fuck_.  And his brain has to go through this whole process of going over the details Dean's told him of Jimmy and separating out the Cas stuff.  

Shit, he needs to sit down.  

At some point, Jo and Dean find him.  Neither notice his mini-breakdown, instead Dean pats him on the back and says he's ducking out early.  

"Leaving your own party early?  Not cool, Winchester."  

"Technically not my party.  And sorry, Jo, but I got an after party to attend."

"An after party-?"  Jo must not like the way Dean winks suggestively while nodding his head toward the door because she makes a disgusted face.  "Ew.  Go, do your weird whatever and don't ever talk about it to me.   _Ever_.  Seriously."

Sam nods along to the whole thing and waves good-bye.  

The massive shift in his world view is the sole reason he's too distracted to notice that both Jimmy and Cas have already disappeared.  Even as Jo points it out, frustrated that she can't find the birthday boys and give them a proper good-bye before they leave, Sam's too closed down to do more than absentmindedly note it in the back of his mind.

And no, he doesn't tell Jo what's wrong when she asks.  Because he is the only one freaking out that Jimmy is _not_  Cas, that there are _two_  of them, so clearly he's the only one who was too dense to figure that out.  God, he would _die_  if anyone found out.  At least now he _knows_  and has time to re-adjust before he next sees Dean.

They finally get around to spending a day together, just the two of them.  They go to a local arcade and goof off for a few hours then head back to Dean's new place.  It's not a bad apartment.  Nice tall ceilings, decent furniture that Dean scavenged around Craigslist for, and a _huge_  bed.  Like seriously, it's a behemoth that takes up way more room than necessary even if two guys _are_  sharing it.

Dean notices him staring and mumbles, "Thanks for not telling Mom and Dad that I don't exactly live here alone..."

"The bed's not exactly subtle, Dean.  They're going to ask questions when you have them over."  

"Yeeeeah I'm hoping to put that off as long as possible, though."

Sam shrugs and puts up his hands to placate his brother.  "Dude, there's no way I'm getting in the middle of this.  My lips are sealed, I promise."

Just to change the topic, he offers to go to that cafe down the street and pick them up something for lunch.  Dean perks up at he mention of food and gives him some cash to cover it.  On top of all of it, he splurges on a whole pie to show Dean he totally supports him and wants him to be happy.  

He jostles the full bag of food between his hands as he tries to open the unlocked door to Dean's place, and then immediately regrets all of his life choices.  Because there, making use of their massive bed, are Dean and Jimmy making out.  

"UGH, Dean, my _eyes_!"  He has enough presence of mind to keep hold of the bag but nearly falls over in attempt to shield himself from the atrocity of seeing his _brother_  with his hand down another guy's pants.  

There's some shuffling and a slight creak as the two of them quickly pull apart and jump off the bed.  When he risks turning back, Dean's about five different shades of red and not meeting his eyes.  Jimmy's carefully straightening out his clothes, tucking the tails of his shirt back into his slacks.

"Apologies, Sam.  Your brother didn't mention you were on your way back."

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that," Dean mutters.  "Kinda got carried away."

" _Obviously_."  He's marginally pissed, but the idea of dragging this out and being mad means continuing to think about what he just saw.  And he'd really rather start forgetting this incident ever happened.

"I only came to pick up my laptop."  Jimmy grabs the item in question from the small kitchenette table and stuffs it in a bag.  "I forgot I'd need it today."

Sam steps further into the apartment to give Jimmy room to leave.  

"Nice to see you again, Sam."

"Yeah, likewise," he mutters.  He refrains from adding, _Though I wish I hadn't seen **so much** of you._

"Good-bye Sam.  Dean."

"Cya, Cas."

Sam's head whips around to Dean but he silently counts to ten after the door clicks closed behind him.  Because he's furious at his brother right now, but he's determined to be the only non-asshole here today and he can fucking wait until Cas is out of earshot.  Because there is no way he can keep himself from shouting the next thing that comes out of his mouth.

"You're cheating on Jimmy with his _brother_?  Jesus fucking Christ, Dean!"

He can basically see the question marks running across Dean's face.  "Uh, no?" he says lamely.  

Biting back his indignation, he carefully enunciates every word as he grounds out, "You're dating Jimmy."

"True."

"And I just caught you making out with Cas."

"Also true."

"So you're cheating on Jimmy."

"False."  Dean reads something in Sam's expression because his shoulders slump a bit.  Maybe he'll stop fucking around and _admit_  to being a jackass so Sam can chew him out.  "Jesus, Sammy.  I... I thought you _knew_.  Ugh, I'm such a fucking _idiot_ , think you were actually that supportive-"

"Supportive of you _cheating on your boyfriend?_  Are you out of your mind-"

"Dammit, Sam!  I'm not _cheating_  on Jimmy.  I'm _dating_ Cas!"

"... And Jimmy?"

" _And_ I'm dating Jimmy."

"... And they're okay with that?"

"They are _very enthusiastically_ okay with that.  Just like i am _very okay_ with them dating each other."

Total brain meltdown.

The utter shock Sam is feeling makes him stagger over to the kitchen counter and lean against it, needing the support as he tries to find his bearings and not completely freak out.  "What are you saying, Dean?"  Because yes, he's going to need this one spelled out.  He's going to stop making assumptions because things are officially out of his depth and he's not going to be able to handle it until he has all the facts in order.

"We're uh, we're dating each other...  All three of us, I mean.  Have been since the beginning of Freshman year."

Sam swallows the word on the tip of his tongue, but again, he _needs_  to know so he can _understand_.  "You guys all... have sex... with each other...?"

"Yes.  In varying arrangements.  Sometimes it'll be just two of us or-"

"Oh my god, stop talking.  I neither need nor want to know anything more specific."

"Right."  Dean looks more nervous than Sam's ever seen him.  And it kills him a bit, but he needs a moment to digest this.  

"Sorry let me...  I need a walk."

He doesn't stay long enough to see Dean's reaction to that news.  He turns tail and leaves.

_~~"It's my boyfriend's birthday."~~ _

_"It's my_ boyfriends' _birthday."_

_~~"I really love 'm."~~ _

_"I really love **them**."_

_“My **two**  best friends.”  
_

_"We're getting a place together.  Jimmy's found this loft apartment near campus and Cas already got a bunch of furniture for the place.  We're moving in this weekend."_

Once again, he finds himself re-evaluating things Dean's said to him and realizing that yeah, maybe he should've figured it out.

Suddenly the huge bed makes a lot more sense.

He walks around the block maybe a dozen times to collect his thoughts.  But he knows he can't avoid this forever, so he forces himself back up to the apartment.  He doesn't knock, just opens the door and steps in.  

Dean jumps up from the couch, his eyes are puffy and a little bloodshot but dry.  And seeing his brother like this makes the rest easy.

"Dean, I'm not going to lie.  This is seriously not what I was expecting.  But I've never seen you so happy as when you're with them, and they both care about you.  So I'm willing to get over my hang ups about the whole thing and be supportive.  And no, I won't tell Mom or Dad-"

He's interrupted by Dean pulling him into a bone crushing hug.  Dean's arms are so securely wrapped around him that he can't move to adequately return the hug, but Dean doesn't seem to be looking for that.  So he lets it happen.

"Thanks, Sammy," he says, voice thick with unshed tears.  "Thanks, man."

"Of course, Dean.  I'm here for you."


End file.
